Windsocks and Flags and Chimes...Oh My!

We visited this store in John's Pass in FLorida. It is named "Windworks"..and it is out of this world!

If you are into windsocks, or chimes, or any kind of garden gadgetry, it is the place for you.

When you step inside, the noise is crazy, from all the different wind chimes...they have fans blowing everything...to keep the windsocks and flags going, and keep the chimes chiming..

We purchased a windsock for the cottage, and a bamboo wind chime, with a flamingo on top...very Floridian!!

     These 2 wooden carvings were outside a cigar shop..
You would buy whatever cigar you wanted...with a glass of wine....and sit outside at bistro tables....didn't take any shots of the  patrons.....they looked like they might "rub"me out, if I did... 


                 Can't wait to hang our new windsock at the lake..

                            Come on Summer!!!! :o)

As Promised....

When I visited the greenhouse last week I picked up a bunch of pink/white tulips.


I promised a photo once they opened up...

Don't they look spectacular!!! 

The colour is perfectly wonderful...pink with the tiniest hint of white....


And of course....another bunny to display them....

This is my Crown Of Thorns that I have had for at least 7 years....I recently moved it to my living room window, where it gets the morning sun....and it is doing really well there....lots of new leaves and some flowers...I have put it outside in the summer, where it really shines!!

And this shot is for Leslie and Devon.....this is one of my larger Christmas Cacti.....the lovely deep peach one....blooming like crazy.....with my little elf standing guard!!



                      Gonna get warmer mid-week...
               Lets see some smiles out there!!!!
Share some of your houseplants....what works best...what are flops.....good tips on watering......       :o)

Sand Sculpture

Almost every day on our walks along the beach, we would come across something that somebody had built ...either that morning, that afternoon, or the day before...

  


From tiny sand castle villages...to what looks like a volcano??

Or just a big hole...

 This was a running shoe print....pretty cool, eh?

This looks like a castle with its own little city around it...and a great wall to protect it...

This one looks like a space station...

This is for sure a mermaid...





and this little guy reminds me of the jolly green giants little friend "sprout"!!  Smiling up at the world...



Have you ever seen anything interesting that somebody carved out of the sand???


Hope you all had a great weekend.........:o)

A Few Signs Of Spring At The Lake

 At first glance, it looks like any other late winter, early spring vista at the lake.


But as you get closer to the beach, you can see that it must have been very windy, with large waves...It looks like my "Beach Garden" will need a complete over-haul....have to look for some new containers for my small crop of tomatoes and assorted veggies...:o(

One of my "travelling gardens" blew a rear axel!!! will have to have a closer look, so see if I can repair it... perennials still intact!!

This poor chair looks like it got stretched apart...another project for the "handy man"....

Greg tries to gather up some of what washed in....we are going to have a heck of a bonfire with all this stuff!!! or....it will all be gone next time we go!!!  you never know....

  

There is lots of sand on the beach....do you like my new booties????  different from flip-flops...that's for sure!

 

This is the tarp that we had around our firewood, up by the wall, under the deck!!! our neighbour manged to save the wood for us, but the tarp is a tangled mess amongst the rocks..

 My Yuccas are looking good for blooming this summer...I have 4 large ones, and they all have "hairs"on them, so that means they will bloom....right Honor????  :o)

The daffodils are coming, but, it looks like the the ground was pretty "windswept"....leaving little soil around them..If time permits, I will try and top it up..

Hyacinth bulbs look the same..almost right out of the ground...but STILL sprouting...

These daffodil look better anchored...and accompanied by some fresh green moss..

Hopefully....well maybe...I will be greeted by some of these beauties on my next visit to the lake....we also got some thrifting in as well....:o)   

After the windy night last night....the horrible tornadoes in the U.S.....we had just travelled thru many of those counties on our way home....hopefull they will pull through...they sure are a resilient bunch....I must say...

                       Cheers to my American Bloggers!!!

                                            :o)

Thursday Trip To The Greenhouse.....

 Today I treated myself with a trip to The Greenhouse...our local flower shop. It is also a garden center in the summer, and pumpkins at Halloween, and Christmas trees, at Christmas. Whatever your flowerey needs are....they fit the bill. The selection of houseplants and tropicals is also fabulous.

So, today, I stopped in for my "fix"!!! I purchased a large bunch of pink tulips, huge bunch of pinky/mauvey mums, a hot pink kalanchoe, a variegated leaf pink violet, a georgeous purple with white ruffly edges, and a potted perennial muscari....

The tulips are in a vase in the family room, but they are still closed pretty tightly....will get a shot of them when they are in their glory...

 Oh yeah....and a potted Basil..the one I left behind was pretty shrivelled...I use it so often that I find it less expensive to buy the potted ones...and they smell heavenly..

I put some of the mums in my foyer, next to my Easter Bunny...

The Muscari ended up in one of my hob nailed planters, in the powder room...next to another Bunny!!!I will plant those up in the garden, when the soil is workable...but for now, the powder room is cool and dark....a great place for bulbs..

The pink violet made it to my bedroom dresser...I replaced a violet that needs a bit more TLC....moved him to the main floor, where I can keep my eye on him....:o)

The kalanchoe ended up in the kangaroo planter...

Picked up this shoe in Florida at a thrift shop...50cents!!!  Did I mention that I also collect ceramic shoes?   Well.....I do...

Some of the mums ended up in my bunny planter, that my late brother Tommy gave me...it is very dear to me, and always gets a few flowers for our weekend dinners in the dining room...

The purple frilly violet got a spot beside my computer...again moving another violet to a more attentive position...I need to start fertilizing, so they will re-flower for me


Remember....I was away for a whole month...my plants were well taken care of by my son and daughter.....thanks again.....:o) 

                   You should pick yourself up some flowers...it certainly can lift your spirits....and brighten your day...

                           Cheers.............:o)